On 6 September 2012, France notified the European Commission about its intention to refinance Credit Immobilier de France (CIF). After a downgrade by Moody's in 2012, CIF faced serious refinancing problems. To guarantee the liquidity, France decided to provide a EUR 18 billion state guarantee (emergency liquidity assistance).

CIF is a mortage lender specialized in loans to low income households in France. CIF has a market share of 4 per cent. (para. 10, letter from the EC to France,Brussels 21.2.2013)The guarantees are given for a maximum period of six month.The maximum guarantees for the respective categories are:

EUR 11 billion for the deposits and related debts

EUR 7 billion for obligations and other securities

The EC find that the measure is selective, because it only gives the benefit to one single enterprise. Without the emergency guarantees, CIF would have faced bankruptcy, therefore CIF is considered privileged vis a vis its competitors. Considering the integrated banking sector in the European union and the strong competition on the European level, it is likely that the measure affects trade between member states. (para. 43, translated from french version)

Update: Liquidation of CIF SA.37075On 27 November 2013 the EC approved the orderly resolution of CIF. The state will finally guarantee for up to EUR 28 billion. The resolution plan forsees a complete liquidation over a period of 22 years. (letter from the EC to France, Brussels 27.11.2013)

A state measure in the GTA database is assessed solely in terms of the extent to which its implementation affects the extent of discrimination against foreign commercial interests. On this metric, the state aid proposed here is discriminatory